After releasing my recipe for Chocolate Mini Egg Nest Cakes last week, I couldn't resist making my ultimate chocolate sponge again, and this time I filled them will gooey Cadbury Creme Egg fondant and topped them with smooth and rich dark chocolate buttercream.
Given its that time of the year when the Cadbury hen hatches all its Creme Eggs, I thought it would be a great time to create and release a Creme Egg cupcake.
These morsels of sweet chocolatey heaven are filled with the fondant from the inside of a Creme Egg and topped with dark chocolate buttercream. Its scrummy!
My ultimate chocolate sponge never lasts long in the Caking It kitchen, but if you don't end up scoffing the whole lot within a couple of days then it will stay beautifully moist and delicious for a week.
In the process of creating these, I attempted to bake some Creme Eggs into the tops of the cupcakes, which ended in disaster..! The fondant went hard and overly-sticky. I wouldn't recommend it. I'll be sharing all the behind the scenes photos on the Caking It Instagram.
I also tried baking in Mini Creme Eggs into the sponge, but I like a good amount of Creme Egg filling in my cupcakes, so this is best achieved by scooping out the insides and filling it once baked.
If you want to try baking a Creme Egg into your cupcakes, then make sure they're frozen, and cover them fully with the batter before baking. I only tested this method with mini Creme Eggs so the ratios of batter may differ if you want to use the full size (see image below).
These cupcakes were definitely a treat! If you're looking for some easy baking to do then these are the cupcakes for you!
As with all the Caking It recipes, make sure your ingredients are room temperature before starting, and once you've made your batter, let it sit in the cases for about 20 minutes before baking. This is to help the gluten free ingredients blend better and creates a more even rise.
Enjoy baking these rich, sweet and completely moreish bites of heaven!
Let's get Caking It!
Recipe
180C (170C fan)
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep: 20 mins
Bake: 20 mins
Assemble: 10 mins
Ingredients
Sponge
150g gluten free self-raising flour
60g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
100g caster sugar
50g light brown sugar
100ml vegetable oil (I use sunflower)
3 medium eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
50 ml boiling water with 2 tsp instant coffee
2 tbsp sour cream
Filling
6 Cadbury Creme Eggs
Frosting
100g unsalted butter
300g icing sugar
100g dark cooking chocolate
Some mini and full size Creme Eggs for decoration
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Method: Sponge
This method is the same for my Chocolate Mini Egg Nest Cakes recipe. As usual, don't forget to wait until all the ingredients are at room temperature before starting.
Preheat oven to 180C. Fill 12 muffin holes with cases.
Start with the dry ingredients. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and xanthan gum to a bowl and whisk to fully incorporate.
In a separate bowl, mix the oil, sugars and vanilla extract. Then, add the eggs one at a time, whisking with an electric whisk between each addition until slightly frothy.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a fork to incorporate. Don’t overmix but ensure that all the ingredients are fully mixed and the batter is smooth. At this point the batter should be thick.
Boil the water and add the instant coffee to it. Slowly pour it into the batter while mixing until it is glossy. This will take some welly but keep persevering because the batter will become smooth, glossy and a delicious brown shiny colour.
Add the sour cream to the cake batter and give it a final quick mix to incorporate.
Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases, adding 1 and 1/2 tbsp to each case and let sit for 20 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes. A skewer inserted into the sponge will come out clean.
Method: Buttercream
This richness of the dark chocolate goes perfectly with the sweetness of the Creme Egg filling
While the sponges are cooling, make to the buttercream.
Cream the butter until pale, and gradually add in the icing sugar until it is all incorporated. You can do this either with a standing mixer, an electric hand whisk, or a fork. At this point the mixture should be a little stiff.
Chop the dark chocolate into small chunks and melt in 15 second increments in the microwave. Wait a few minutes to let cool slightly and then pour into the buttercream and beat until nicely incorporated.
Assembly
Making sure the sponges are completely cool, scoop out the middle of the cupcake with an apple corer, taking care not to go right down to the bottom.
Scoop the filling out of 6 Cadbury Creme eggs into a bowl and, with a teaspoon, spoon a little into each cupcake hole.
Pipe on a good layer of the dark chocolate buttercream.
Finish your cupcakes with a Mini Creme Egg, half a Creme Egg, or make an egg icing decoration. I do this by slowly adding 1 teaspoon of water to icing sugar until it forms a thick but dropping consistency. Separate into two bowls and add yellow food colouring to one. Spoon on top of the buttercream to make a fried egg decoration.
Enjoy!